Author: DW

Canadian Street Rodding Hall of Fame

Coming up in October of 2017 is the 23rd year of the Canadian Street Rodding Hall of Fame’s gala evening, and this year it’s on Saturday October 21st, 2017 BUT this year the location has definitely changed. The new location is the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre, 700 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, Ontario N3H 5L8 (click here for a map). We will meet and greet at 5:30 pm, with the meal and ceremonies beginning at 6:30 pm. Come and be a part of the induction of the 2017 inductee.

It will be a very relaxed evening this year in a new facility with proper visibility and sound and an open atmosphere. Last year we welcomed the Motor City Car Club as the first “club” to be inducted. This year’s inductee will be chosen from the nominations sent in by you. If you’ve not already sent in your nomination, please do so in the very near future. The deadline is May 1, 2017.

After the ceremonies there will be live entertainment and dancing for your enjoyment. A cash bar will be available and dress is business casual.

Custom Axle Brackets

We’ve always designed our brackets for 3″ axle tubes, but once in a while someone asks whether we can make them for other sizes. Here’s the process:

This can be done for any axle housing diameter, bushing width, or bar location relative to axle centerline.

We charged C$29/ea for the brackets, plus labour to weld them. Turnaround was a few days. Please get in touch if you have a special project that you think we can help with.

D100: Front brakes

There are a few directions we could have gone for brakes on the D100, but we decided to use our basic Mustang II caliper brackets and a replacement S10 caliper. They’re inexpensive, easy to find, and will serve our purpose well.

CPP has come out with calipers which have a 20% larger piston than the standard GM metric ones, and include pads for a very reasonable price. Here’s a link. They’re nicely powder coated black, and pretty sharp looking!

Rotors are standard Granada discs that you can buy from your local hot rod parts store. I got all these parts from Horton Hot Rod Parts in Milton, ON. I haven’t ran brake lines yet, so I’ll wait to run my flex lines. I’ll likely use a bulkhead fitting to go through the frame rail.

Here is the caliper bracket kit:

D100: Rack Extensions

Here’s a quick bit of info on how we matched the rack to our 62-1/2″ Mustang II crossmember.

Theoretically, you could widen a Mustang II crossmember as much as you wanted… the key is protecting the control arm pivot points and tie rod geometry. When you’re thinking of widening a Mustang II rack, there are two ways to do it properly… outside the bushings and inside the bushings.
‘Outside the bushings’ refers to pushing the tie rod ball and socket joint towards the wheel. This has to be done the same amount as the crossmember is wider than stock – typically 2″ per side on a 4″ wider than stock configuration. Longer tie rod ends can also be used on a 58″ wide crossmember.
‘Inside the bushings’ refers to lengthening the actual rack and rack housing. For a much wider crossmember, this might be a good option… there are even racks available that are wider than stock for this purpose. Your crossmember will have to be set up or modified for a wider rack. Welder Series crossmembers are designed to use rack extenders – the ‘outside the bushing’ method.

On my 1968 D100 truck build, I used a Welder Series 62-1/2″ track width crossmember, with rack extenders from Heidts. I used two (4″ total) on the passenger side, and one (2″ total) on the driver side. Our rack mounts favor the driver side, so the steering input shaft is closer to the frame rail and will be more likely to be aimed away from your headers.

Note: the rack bushings mount with the shoulder against the crossmember, and the serrations biting in to the rack mounts. Use a bolt size washer (included in our #24410 power rack mounting kit) on the front of the bushing, and let the bushing mushroom as you tighten the nut.

Syracuse 2017

The shop will be closed from Thursday till Monday while we’re at the Syracuse Nationals. We don’t have a booth again this year, but I’ll be around the Tucci Hot Rods booth if you’d like to talk with me.

If you’re on Instagram and Facebook and going to Syracuse, you’ll want to make sure you’re following us (just search for welderseries) because I’ll be posting throughout the weekend, and playing a little interactive game with prizes!

Thanks for your support. We’re looking forward to enjoying the weekend. Say hi if you see me!

DW Horton

D100 Parts List

As we progress through this 1968 Dodge D100 pickup build, you might see a product that catches your fancy… here’s a (fairly) comprehensive list of what we used.

D100 Seat: Update 2

After selecting the fabric from the LeBaron Bonney catalog (direct link) and giving Peter an admittedly vague description of what I was thinking for the seat, I had to accomplish one of the most difficult tasks in building a project: waiting.

Tack Upholstery

I have complete confidence in Peter’s ability to interpret my muddled attempts at describing a finished product, so there was no stress over that. I was more worried about the fabric, since I was the one who picked it, not heeding the advice of even my wife who has an uncanny ability to see color. She has chosen the EXACT color swatch sample from Home Depot three times over a period of about five years. Color doesn’t initially register as an adjective when I’m first looking at a car, for example. Anyways, this seat is AMAZING. Peter used the stock frame which was supplied with the truck (the seat that came installed was from a 1970 Fury 4 door). He refinished, painted, fixed the springs, added new foam… and kept the fabric aligned perfectly. I know it looks a bit purple in the pictures, but it’s actually a nice deep blue.

This is a nice step forward… I can make vroom vroom noises now!

D100 Build, Article 4: Rear Bump Stops

I always appreciate a good “reusal” of parts to either change their intended function, or to keep their original function but in a slightly different way. Using body trim tastefully from one model on a different car comes to mind. The reused part needs to fit the theme, however, and not merely look like it was used because it was 8:45 on a Sunday night, and the auto parts store workers were on strike.

In removing the original leaf spring rear suspension on the Sweptline, I ended up taking the bump stops off the frame too. They weren’t lined up with axle centerline, and I decided I could use the space outside the rails where they were sticking out. Also, they were going to be in the space I needed to remove for step notch clearance. I like the piece itself; just not where it was mounted.

After the notches were installed, I started to think about bump stops and remembered I still had the originals, so I cleaned them up, made a few tweaks, and present them to you now!

I won’t be installing them until I have the truck sitting with the Shockwaves fully collapsed so I know where it actually needs to be. They’ll be welded to the inside of the frame rails on the step notch.

If you need new bump stops, Energy Suspension has a bunch of options. Check out this reseller’s listing (I find it easier to search than the official website): http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/universal-bump-stops-shock-eyes.asp

Dear Welder Series…four bar bars – do they need jam nuts?

Dear Welder Series…
I have a couple questions about your 4 link kit. With the adjuster just on one end, wouldn’t it be best to just forget the jam nut? With a rubber boot to keep the dirt out, wouldn’t this let the bar “twist” and prevent binding? I’d have thought that the nut would work loose anyway as the adjuster attempted to loosen or tighten when you go over a bump with one wheel.

Also, I assume your adjusters and bars are a mild steel. How do I stop them from rusting after welding? Do you recommend plating? I would paint the bars etc but I’m unsure about the threaded portions.

Thanks
Miles

Dear Miles…
Hi, Miles. For street use, the bushings have enough elasticity to absorb the twist and not loosen the jam nuts. Even lubricated, it’s likely that the threads in the mild steel bars and adjuster studs would wear and either fail or have to be replaced periodically.

Thread the adjusters into the bars without the jam nuts to keep the threads clean, or just mask off the portion of the thread that will go into the bar.

Thanks for your interest in Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

32 Update: Rear License Plate Frame Revision 1

You may remember the first version of the license plate frame was a Bob Drake stamped stainless piece that I sliced and welded to the spreader bar. If you don’t remember, re-read that first sentence, omitting the first three words. Here’s a pic:

After some reflection, a shortened “OUR WORK” could have become a shortened “OUR WRECK”.

Somewhere between Syracuse and home, and then again somewhere between home and Louisville, the turbulence at the back of the car was working the frame and breaking the weld. It was a challenge to weld the thin frame to the heavier wall spreader bar, and every time it broke off, I had to clean and re-weld it where it had already been heated. Suffice to say, I was ready for a revision.

Customer Pics: 1954 Chevy truck

I came across this build on the 67-72chevytrucks.com forum and asked the builder if I could share the pics here. He used our step notch, rear four link, Panhard, and center section. Here’s the link to the build: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=653414

Nice work! Parts used: